Reviews tagging 'War'

My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, Vol. 1 by Emil Ferris

14 reviews

nmcannon's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

 Back in…2019…I read this amazing blog post by Casey the Candian Lesbrarian about the best books she’d read that year. My Favorite Thing is Monsters was on it, and I put it on my TBR, so future!Natalie would remember. Future!Natalie came through.

Karen Reyes is a ten year old girl obsessed with horror movie monsters. With bullies, a best friend lost to homophobia (still alive, but heavily forced into the closet by parents), and the stress of working class ‘60s Chicago, she has a A Lot to process. And that’s before her upstairs neighbor Anka is murdered, her older brother becomes the prime suspect, and her mom gets a cancer diagnosis. Trusty sketchbook and fedora in tow, Reyes decides to figure out whodunit. What she doesn’t bargain for are tapes of Anka telling her life story in Nazi Germany, rife with parental abuse, rape, and pedophilia.

The entire, hefty book of My Favorite Thing is Monsters is styled as Reyes’ journal and sketchbook. The art is GORGEOUS. The book is art and art is the book. I was reminded of coffee table books, which are set out to entertain guests. Then again, the subject matter is not for the light of heart. Ferris pulls no punches, and her heroine’s lives are dark. A serious dead dove; don’t eat situation. I thought the story would focus more on the intersection of queerness and horror, and it does to a certain extent. There’s just a whole lot more. Anka’s flashbacks take up more pages, which makes sense because Reyes is ten and Anka died in her fifties. While Anka and Reyes are twin pole stars, the other characters aren’t neglected at all. The depth of character is truly incredible and incredibly colorful.

Despite the grim subject matter, there’s a thread of youthful hope throughout the story. If you can grasp it and hold tight, I highly, highly recommend Ferris’ masterwork. My Favorite Thing is Monsters is a beautiful, heart-wrenching magnum opus.

Casey’s blog post: https://caseythecanadianlesbrarian.wordpress.com/2019/01/08/my-2018-year-in-reading-favourite-books-of-the-year-most-memorable-character-best-cover-and-more/

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Outing, Alcohol, War, and Deportation

Moderate: Cancer, Terminal illness, Medical content, Dementia, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, and Classism

I'd say the majority of the CWs are period-typical considering the setting is pre-Holocaust, Holocaust, and 1960s working class Chicago. Reyes is a young, queer woman of color, and she experiences period-typical racism, lesbophobia, classism, and misogyny.

emmaopaline's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, and War

lancakes's review

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Antisemitism, and War

acciobecks's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, and War